Fossil Fest: Juniata\'s Geology Club Hosts Hunt for Fossils

(Posted October 23, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Children from Huntingdon and surrounding communities can explore the remains of animals that populated Pennsylvania well before dinosaurs walked the Earth. In addition, the first 50 children who arrive for the fossil hunt will receive a free T-shirt at \"Fossil Fest 2006\" from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 29, starting from the Juniata campus.
The tour is free and open to the public. Transportation is not provided by the college. \"Parents must accompany their children to the collecting site,\" explains David Lehmann, associate professor of geology. \"Because the college cannot provide transportation, we hope parents can drive or car-pool the children to the site.\"
For further information, call (814) 641-3602. In case of rain, the event will be moved to Nov. 12. Snacks, refreshments and collecting supplies will be provided.
The tour, aimed at children between six and 14 years old, will visit a collecting site near the Juniata campus to look for fossils such as Phacops, Heterophrensis and other early life forms.. The location for fossils is selected by the college\'s Andrew Lawson Geological Society of Juniata, the student club devoted to geology.
\"All those who find fossils will be able to keep them,\" Lehman says.
The tour will leave at 2 p.m. from the Beeghly Library parking lot, which is on Moore Street across from the Brumbaugh Academic Center. Parents will be asked to drive to the off-campus site, which is close to Huntingdon. All participants must have an adult escort with them during the fossil hunt. Car-pooling is encouraged due to parking limitations on campus.
Tour participants will learn how fossils are formed as well as what the Huntingdon area was like millions of years ago (it was covered by a huge sea). \"You\'ll collect fossils of animals that lived in this area 150 million years before the first dinosaur,\" Lehmann says.